High-profile Pak. arms show opens today

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, NOV. 13. Pakistan is organising a major international arms exhibition in Karachi beginning tomorrow to boost its exports. It is a showcase to advertise the country's growing arms industry.

Defence ministers, armed forces chiefs and senior generals from 37 countries including China, Russia, France and Saudi Arabia, are expected to visit `IDEAS-2000', beginning tomorrow.

Over 5,000 police personnel have been deployed for the exhibition. Police and army commandos armed with automatic weapons have been posted around the venue. The Interior Minister, Lt. Gen. (retd.) Moinuddin Haider, said last week the recent bomb blast in the office of a newspaper group in Karachi was aimed at sabotaging the exhibition.

The Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, and the President, Mr. Rafiq Tarar, are expected to visit the high- profile show.

The official news agency. Associated Press of Pakistan, has reported that exports including machine guns, rifles, anti-tank rockets, mortars and ammunition earned Pakistan $ 30.2 million last year.

The Ordinance Factories chairman, Lt. Gen. Abdul Qayyum, told the agency that ``a 107 per cent increase in our exports in the last two years is proof that not only the prices of Pakistani arms and ammunition are competitive but the quality is also of international standards.''

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Section  : International
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